


Wanted

by intangible_rice



Category: Portal (Video Game)
Genre: Caroline Appreciation Day, Drabble, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-06
Updated: 2018-12-06
Packaged: 2019-09-12 22:37:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 290
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16880553
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/intangible_rice/pseuds/intangible_rice
Summary: Caroline contemplates an ad in the local paper.





	Wanted

**Author's Note:**

> I originally wrote this drabble for Caroline Appreciation Day on tumblr a while ago. Now that the tumblocalypse is in full swing, I'm reposting the stuff I don't want to risk losing here

_“Wanted: Assistant to Cave Johnson, CEO of Aperture Science. Duties include answering phones, managing finances, and corralling mutants. Must work well under extreme pressure. Call MIchigan 5-6325 for interviews.”_

Her eyes glanced over the ad again, but she wasn’t really reading it anymore. In her mind, she was fourteen again, and so excited when her science teacher handed her test back with a big red A across the top. Her happiness had lasted almost fifteen seconds, when the boy sitting next to her had leaned over and proceeded to loudly declare her grade to the class.

Then everything was a cacophony of protest, with students saying it wasn’t fair, or that they shouldn’t have such a bad grade if a _girl_ got an A. Her teacher had waited for the class to settle down before explaining to them that there was nothing wrong with the scoring - Caroline was very good at science, and anyone who might be struggling was free to ask for her help. She’d smiled then, glad that someone had stood up for her.

That faded, too, when the same teacher later pulled her aside and muttered something about parental complaints. He gave her a sympathetic pat on the shoulder and suggested she take something like sewing instead, before unceremoniously sending her out into the hall.

Caroline hadn’t thought about this in a while, but she was surprised by how vividly it all came back to her when her mother had taken the classified section from her hand and laughed at what she’d circled.

“Besides,” the older woman said now, jarring Caroline out of her thoughts. “When have you ever been interested in science?”

Caroline didn’t answer. Instead, she walked down the hall and picked up the phone.


End file.
